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Apr 30, 2017
Deri and the Tel Aviv Shabbos crisis
The Haredi parties are continuing to press on the Tel Aviv shops being open on Shabbos issue. They are continuing to threaten to bring down the coalition. It feels, for now, like they are treating it like a real crisis and that they will go all the way with their threats.
The question is, why did they not shut it all down when they had the power to? The Supreme Court decision came only because Minister Deri did not give his own decision on the issue before the deadline arrived. If they are so serious about the issue, why did he not give the decision when it was in his hands to do so?
I understand it was not a good decision to have to make. No matter what he would decide, many would be upset. Deciding to reject the Tel Aviv bylaw would turn it into a religious issue, and accepting it was not really an option but doing so would upset the religious and Haredi. It was thought he intentionally waffled in order to let the Supreme Court take the decision away from him - but then why did he fight to get the power to decide on this issue returned to him, and why are they so upset now that his plan worked and the Supreme Court decided for him.
It seems to me that had that been his plan, any protest would have been superficial at best and would have passed quickly.
So, I don't get what is happening. It seems real, and if so, why did Deri not decide on the issue when he was able to?
Maybe it just backfired? Maybe that was the plan and Shas would have been ok with it, but UTJ turned it into a bigger issue than Deri had expected or planned for?
Do you have any thoughts?
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I think Deri really didn't want to make the call, because he would make one group or the other very unhappy. Even if he had decided to forbid opening on Shabbos solely at the behest of his constituents/Shas Rabbinical Council, he would have been the one that Chilonim would have seen as making life hard for them. By only opposing the decision made by the court, he is clearly just engaging in party politics, and it's less about him than it is about Charedim vs the World. It doesn't hurt him as much.
ReplyDeleteSo why did Deri not do the easy thing and go to his Rabbinical Council? Then he'd be able to hide behind them. I don't know either.
DeleteI think I understand why the Haredim are not letting down. They know that this will set a precedent and change of the 'status quo' that will be almost impossible to backtrack.
This is pure speculation. I've never even been in Deri's presence, never mind interviewed him.
DeleteIf Deri had made the decision, even if the decision was really the Council's, it would have looked worse for him. By fighting the decision made by others', he can claim to be doing so at his party's behest. It's purely a matter of appearances. No one's really fooled. Also, if he actually agrees with the court's decision, he make the fight a token fight, but if had made the same decision, Shas would have pilloried him.
May be Shas wants to help topple Likud govt with B Y appearing so strong on polls--he can get more candy from a wanna be leader than one in office. Who knows what Lapid will cough up to get the top spot? He's move to the right because his mirror tells him how good he'll look in front page pics.
ReplyDeleteMay be Shas wants to help topple Likud govt with B Y appearing so strong on polls--he can get more candy from a wanna be leader than one in office. Who knows what Lapid will cough up to get the top spot? He's move to the right because his mirror tells him how good he'll look in front page pics.
ReplyDeleteAs a corollary to Harold's theory, perhaps what Deri and the Charedim really want is firmer Shabbat legislation, but they knew they couldn't push it across without first making a big crisis. By having the Court decision as an impetus, they can get better unity from the Haredi/Religious parties, and perhaps greater support from other parties as well.
ReplyDeleteAnd maybe this crisis will simply lead to the "compromise" of the gov't actually cracking down on all illegal Shabbat violations, which would be a net improvement over today's "status quo".